Exploring the association between gastrointestinal heat retention syndrome and adult chronic eczema: A case–control study

Objective: To investigate the association between gastrointestinal heat retention syndrome (GHRS) and adult chronic eczema. Methods: This case–control study compared GHRS/GHRS accompanied by damp-heat syndrome (GHRS-DHS) and other patient characteristics between subjects with (cases) and without chronic eczema (controls) to identify potential factors associated with this condition. Semi-structured questionnaires were used to collect data via face-to-face interviews. Participants were recruited from Dongzhimen Hospital affiliated with Beijing University of Chinese Medicine. A logistic regression analysis was performed on the collected data, and odds ratios (ORs) were calculated. Results: A total of 168 cases and 172 controls were recruited. Among the cases of adult chronic eczema, there were 79 subjects with GHRS and 68 with GHRS-DHS. Sex (P = .02, OR = 0.54, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.32–0.91), GHRS (P = .04, OR = 1.90, 95% CI: 1.02–3.51), GHRS-DHS (P < .001, OR = 4.89, 95% CI: 2.36–10.15), high sweet food consumption (P = .04, OR = 2.03, 95% CI: 1.03–3.97), and mental stress (P = .01, OR = 2.37, 95% CI: 1.26–4.47) were each found to be associated with chronic eczema. Furthermore, GHRS had a weak positive correlation with eczema EASI severity as measured by the eczema area and severity index (EASI) (P = .003). Conclusion: GHRS/GHRS-DHS may be associated with adult chronic eczema. In the future, prospective cohort studies with larger samples should be conducted to investigate the cause and effect association between GHRS and adult chronic eczema.